


The Invisibility Cloak

by FantasticNumberNine



Series: John Watson and the Philosopher's Stone [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Gen, Invisibility, John's parents - Freeform, Mirror of Erised, Presents, dumbledore wisdom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 03:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1925244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasticNumberNine/pseuds/FantasticNumberNine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmastime at Hogwarts, and fun and new as it is for John, a returned family heirloom is the key to John's discovery of a dangerously beautiful mirror.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Invisibility Cloak

**Author's Note:**

> Dumbledorisms ahead.

"I do feel sorry for all the kids who aren't _wanted_ at home for _Christmas_ , it must be so terribly devastating for them."

John ignored Moriarty, only stabbing at his breakfast a bit more viciously than necessary. Greg, who was sitting across from him, turned toward the Slytherin table only to see a half full jug of milk upend itself over Moriarty's head--the hall erupted into laughter. Mycroft looked particularly smug for the briefest of moments before adopting a look of bemused confusion, causing John and Greg to laugh harder.

"We've been a bad influence on you."

"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean."

The trio said their goodbyes in the entry hall, Mycroft would be spending Christmas at home with his parents and younger brother ("You have a brother? How didn't we know that?" Mycroft rolled his eyes, "He's not so much a brother as a cross between a banshee and a dragon.")

Greg would be staying with John at Hogwarts with his three older brothers ("My parents are going to Romania to see my brother Charlie--hey, he works with dragons, maybe he knows your brother!")

John was woken on Christmas morning by a pillow landing on his head, "Wake up! It's Christmas! John! John! Christmas!" 

A large weight--that of an eleven year old boy--landed on the bed beside John and he cracked open one eye, big, brown, sparkling eyes appeared very close to his face. "Come on, John! Presents!"

"I've got presents?" John sat up, causing Greg to fall backwards off the bed.

"Yeah, of course you do! It's _Christmas_..." Greg looked at him curiously from the floor. "You... Oh."

John blushed.

"Well, forget the muggles. We'll start our own, new, traditions!" He picked himself up and grabbed a brightly wrapped box from the pile at the foot of John's bed and tossed it to him, "Starting with presents!" 

John stared at the box in his hands, then up at Greg, a slow smile building on his face. "Go on then!"

He peeled off the wrapping reverently, reading the note--from Hagrid--and revealed a beautifully hand-carved flute that sounded just like an owl. Greg was tearing into his own, slightly larger, pile of gifts, and John smiled. This was looking to be the best Christmas he'd ever had.

John ended up giving his fifty pence coin to Greg, who was fascinated by the bit of muggle money, and they both received a large box of sugar quills from Mycroft and a note that read _Hopefully, your real quills will be put to equal use in the future._ They grinned, and, mouth full of sugar quill, Greg said, "Doubtful." 

There was also a box of sweets and a dark blue knit jumper with a golden snitch pattern from Greg's mum; "Yeah, I've got one too, maroon, like always. Awful color, but she insists on it every year."

His last present was by far the most interesting, accompanied by a vague note, _This belonged to your father, and it is time it was returned to you. Use it well._ A silvery fabric slid out of the wrapping and Greg dropped a box of chocolate frogs.

"That's an invisibility cloak!"

John could guess what that meant, and he stood to put it on. 

"Wicked! Imagine what you could do with that!"

The possibilities were endless.

"Who's it from?"

He shrugged. "Didn't say, but it used to be my dad's."

The feast that night was brilliant, and magical crackers were loads better than muggle ones--John had a pile of more presents by the end of the night, including his own wizard's chess set that had Greg promising to teach him how to play. That was a bit intimidating, as Greg was the only person in Gryffindor tower who could consistently wipe the board with Mycroft. 

They played a few rounds, Greg winning each one, before Greg pronounced that he was exhausted and they went up to bed. 

John lay under the covers well past when Greg fell asleep, the light snoring an obvious tell, still wide awake. The invisibility cloak was folded under his pillow, and the whole castle seemed to be calling him. Quickly, quietly, John pulled on his new jumper, tied his trainers, and grabbed his invisibility cloak and dashed out of Gryffindor. 

He made his way to the library, for no other reason than because, simply, he could. And possibly because he had been influenced by Mycroft just as much as he and Greg had influenced him. What to do in the library after hours... He made a beeline for the Restricted Section. 

Where he discovered, to his horror, that books could scream bloody murder. Running out of the library, John nearly collided into Professors Snape and Quirrel, who'd been having what sounded like a muted argument. And then Filch arrived, there was a student out of bed, and John cursed his luck, edging along the wall as quietly as he could before reaching an open door and sliding inside, heart pounding too loudly.

He waited by the door until the voices in the hall faded away to silence, the he turned to take in the room. A large, well gilded mirror stood in the center, odd words carved across the top. John came closer, slid off the cloak, and looked into the mirror briefly before spinning around with a surprised gasp. The room was still empty. He looked back at the mirror, it still showed a crowded room, but this time John saw more.

He saw himself, just as he was, standing between a man who looked just like him--but with warm brown eyes--and a woman with long red hair and his bright blue eyes. His parents. And the people behind them, they must be his family, the same messy blond hair there, and brilliant blue eyes there. He had a family. 

The next night he brought Greg, and it didn't go as planned at all. Greg couldn't see his family; Greg saw himself, older, a decorated auror, and something else that he refused to say but his face was flushed.

"Do you think this mirror shows the future?"

"It showed me my family."

John returned alone after that, though Greg asked him not to go back at all. But Greg didn't understand, he still had his parents, and all of his brothers. John had no one.

"Back again, John?"

He jumped up to his feet, he'd been sitting in front of the mirror, talking to his parents about his first year at Hogwarts, about quidditch, and Greg and Mycroft, and his first Christmas.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir, I..." John looked back at the mirror.

"You have found the Mirror of Erised, like many before you."

"The Mirror of Erised?"

"Do you understand how it works yet, John?"

"It... It shows us what we want?"

Dumbledore came to stand beside him. "Yes, and no. It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire our hearts."

John looked away from the mirror.

"Many have wasted away gazing into this mirror, not knowing if what they have seen is real, or even possible."

"You're going to tell me not to come back, aren't you?"

Dumbledore nodded, looking into the mirror. "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."

John picked up his cloak, sliding the smooth fabric between his fingers.

"Sir?"

"Yes, John?"

He hesitated, "What, er... What do you see? In the mirror?"

A flicker of something came and went too quickly for John to identify across Professor Dumbledore's face before he smiled benignly.

"I? I see myself holding a pair of warm fluffy socks. One can never have too many pairs of warm socks, and everyone seems intent on gifting me books instead. Alas."

**Author's Note:**

> :)
> 
> I'm thinking about two more installments before I head into Chamber of Secrets.


End file.
